Eureka! Watkins goes east

Neil Milbert, Tribune staff reporterCHICAGO TRIBUNE

A California high school basketball player takes his game to the University of Illinois about as often as snowflakes fall in Los Angeles.

When Quinton Watkins, a 6-foot-3-inch shooting guard from Compton who signed a letter of intent last week, enrolls at Illinois this summer, he will be only the third California player in the school's basketball history, which dates to 1905.

The first was Glenn Potter, who came from Orange, Calif., to play in 1921-24 and was captain of the team as a senior.

The second was Blandon Ferguson, who took a detour from high school in Oakland to the College of Southern Idaho before arriving as a junior in 2001 for two seasons under former coach Bill Self.

Now, as he gets ready to make his first visit this weekend, Watkins already has a feeling of belonging in Champaign-Urbana.

"The coaches have made me feel like I was part of the family," the Dominguez High School star said by telephone Sunday. "Nebraska and Virginia were also recruiting me, but it wasn't the same feeling.

"I met Coach [Bruce] Weber for the first time in December and we developed a relationship. I like their style of play and I like Coach Weber."

Although California has been an alien recruiting field for Illinois, Weber is no stranger to recruits from there. During his time as an assistant coach at Purdue, he helped Gene Keady bring in some California recruits, including Chuckie White, Jeff Arnold and Craig Perry.

Long before the thought of playing at Illinois entered Watkins' mind, he became a fan of a Chicago high school player who was destined to become one of the best players on the 2004-05 Illini team that finished second in the NCAA tournament.

"I've been watching Luther Head since he was in high school [at Manley]," Watkins said. "He was on a Chicago preps program that I saw on TV and I started following him. I always thought he was a great player."

Watkins began his high school career at St. John Bosco, but when the coaches got fired after his freshman season he decided to transfer to Dominguez. The summer following his sophomore year he made an oral commitment to Southern California.

"I always liked USC as a kid and I wanted to play in the Pac-10," he explained. "But then my dad and I decided to open it up.

"Through my dad I met a couple of older guys who played football at Illinois and they told me what a great campus atmosphere they have there. I've heard about what it's like at basketball games. Wow."

Watkins averaged 19.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, three assists and two steals while playing on one of the best high school teams in the Los Angeles area last season. Dominguez had a 22-8 record, was co-champion of the San Gabriel Valley and advanced to the semifinals of the Southern Section tournament.

"I need to work on my strength this summer at Illinois, at getting a lot stronger," Watkins said. "Also, I want to work on my midrange game."

Weber said Watkins "definitely has offensive skills. He's a pretty good shooter and he can get to the basket. We'll have a better feel of where he fits in after he gets here and starts playing with the guys."